The Madison City Council debated until late in the night Tuesday discussing changes to Mayor Dave Cieslewicz's proposed $192 million 2005 city budget.
Following 90 minutes of citizen input, council members crunched numbers while picking apart or rallying for the more than 30 amendments proposed to the budget.
An early debate centered on an amendment to delete all funding for the Sister City Program. The amendment failed 14-6, and $10,000 will continue to flow from Madison to its nine sister cities around the world.
Ald. Zach Brandon, District 7, was one of six alders sponsoring the amendment to eliminate funding. He said the program had noble intentions when it began in the 1950s, but beginning in the 1970s the City Council used the program more to comment on foreign affairs than to assist allied cities.
Madison already has sister cities in Cuba, Vietnam and El Salvador, and has debated adding one in the Gaza Strip.
Ald. Judy Compton, District 16, commented on the small amount of money that is allocated to individual towns and said these funds could be better spent in Madison.
\It's a great idea but I don't see that the little money does any improvement to these other countries,"" she said.
In the open portion of the meeting, many Madison residents spoke in favor of the Sister City program.
""I want to know if there's anyone among you who's opposed to peace, friendship and reconciliation,"" one man asked the council.
Most council members voted for keeping the program, despite the limited funds that actually reach each city.
""I'm reminded of a popular commercial, and if the investment is $500 [per city] then the end result is priceless- and that's peace and understanding,"" Ald. Brandon Benford, District 12, said.
Another debate involved how the city would fund affordable housing.
""This should be a priority in our community,"" Ald. Austin King, District 8, said. ""I hope we are willing to put our money where our mouths are to address this problem.""
After discussion of two amendments-and amendments to those amendments-the council voted 12-8 to place $300,000 in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. In the same amendment the council voted to direct more than $200,000 to that trust fund at the end of the year from any money left over in a $1 million contingency fund.
As of press time the council had not discussed amendments on the creation of a Department of Civil Rights, cutting funding for weekend bus service or placing advertisements on city recycling bins.
